National

This study looks at the geographic distribution and characteristics of the approximately 800,000 immigrants already living in the United States from seven of the countries covered by travel ban imposed by the Trump administration on September 25, 2017: Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. The data indicate that these immigrants are employed, highly educated, have high incomes, own their own homes, and are making impressive contributions to the larger society.

This issue brief examines the main features of the H-1B temporary worker program, including the background of visa holders, the types of companies they work for, and latest trends in the operation of the program. The report notes that the H-1B program has been growing, with much of the growth due to the fact that there is a long wait for employment-based green cards, particularly for Indian nationals. H-1B visa holders may renew their temporary visas until a green card is available.

Why is social science expertise important in policymaking, and why is such expertise noticeably shunned in immigration policymaking, an area of governance often swirling in a sea of misinformation, prejudice, and political posturing? These are two questions that the author of this paper seeks to answer.

The Trump Administration proposals for cuts to legal immigration are embodied in the Securing America’s Future Act of 2018 (H.R. 4760), filed in the U.S. House of Representatives in January, 2018. According to estimates in this report, the bill, if enacted, would substantially change the racial, religious and educational characteristics of new U.S. immigrants. The New Immigrant Survey, conducted in 2003, permits analysis of H.R. 4760’s potential impact on new immigrants’ characteristics.

This report provides a summary of "the prodigious research evidence about refugees in the US." The authors seek to ground policymaking in the existing research base (focusing on five major studies produced in recent years), as well as to identify gaps in research that should be addressed in the future. Overall, the existing studies show that labor force participation rates for refugees rise over time, often exceeding native-born rates, refugee income levels rise, and their use of public benefits declines.

The number of deportations of unauthorized immigrants has increased dramatically since the election of Donald Trump. In keeping with long-standing tradition, religious communities across the United States have responded by providing sanctuary to unauthorized immigrants in the form of housing and social services. Thus far, immigration authorities have refrained from entering sacred spaces to apprehend unauthorized immigrants. But, is it legal for religious communities to provide such sanctuary under the current law criminalizing the "harboring" of unauthorized immigrants?

Despite multiple stays of removal after an order for removal from the United States in 2006, Ravi Ragbir, an immigrant activist, was taken into custody during a routine meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in January 2018. His case is symptomatic of a larger problem caused by Trump administration immigration policies. This report addresses the Trump administration's change in longstanding policies governing the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in relation to people who have received an order of removal.

This "Spotlight" report details the major demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Dominican immigrants in the U.S. based on census and Department of Homeland Security data. Among data points covered in the report are: educational attainment, labor force participation, income and poverty levels, immigration pathways and naturalization rates, health coverage, and remittance levels.

This study measures the likelihood that three categories of foreign-born individuals (F-1 visa holders, lawful permanent residents, and undocumented individuals) will be employed five years after graduating from college. Described by the authors as the "first-of-its-kind quantification of college-to-employment rates," the study devotes special attention to the growing numbers of foreign students, i.e. F-1 visa holders -- two-thirds of whom are studying in high-demand STEM fields. As the U.S.

During the period from 2009 to 2013, the U.S. carried out 1.8 million deportations, most of them involving fathers and heads of households. This paper examines the impact of these deportations on U.S.-born children, specifically the likelihood that they are now living in single-parent households or with friends or other family members. The authors cite literature showing that the absence of a parent increases school drop-out rates, raises teen pregnancy rates, and limits future earnings.